The Adirondack Powder Skier Association ("APSA") is a not-for-profit corporation formed to study, protect, promote, and enhance low impact human powered snow sports on public lands in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. The APSA has been meeting with the APA and DEC as well as governmental and environmental Leaders to develop standards for ski touring trails within naturally occurring openings under a mature canopy on pitches that would require a minimal amount of maintenance to create safe and reasonable access.

The APSA strongly believes that by utilizing carefully planned out criteria for site selection and route designs which integrate the natural terrain features and contours while avoiding areas of specific environmental concern the ultimate goal of Resource Protection can be achieved in both Wilderness and Wild Forest Areas of the Forest Preserve. low impact ski touring trails selectively located throughout the Adirondack Park would help to sustain our local communities through Eco-Tourism opportunities while providing a healthy wilderness activity for all to enjoy.

The Adirondacks are blessed with thousands of acres of mountainous public lands

which include mature forests and slides—all with impressive elevation gains. The tradition of backcountry skiing in the Adirondacks is etched in our history but the current regulatory vacuum fails to cultivate the tremendous potential inherent to our region. If realized, this birthright will establish a cold-weather draw for eco-tourists and local powder hounds which will directly benefit our region. With vision and appropriate management, a perfect balance of resource protection and recreational access can be achieved.

Frequently Asked Questions

So where does your money go?

Currently the money you donate or contribute via a membership allows APSA to operate. It creates a small amount of cash flow which funds the website, a domain name, insurance and our frequent and ongoing discussions and meetings with DEC, APA, and major Adirondack environmental groups. In the future, we hope to provide tools for maintenance and volunteer efforts that promote our cause. To sum it up, we are a small grassroots group that is growing daily and every penny helps us cover the costs of getting us on our feet and pushing the state of New York to expand backcountry skiing in the dack’s.

Why don’t you have a map? Because if we did it would be a very tiny (think palm size) one that only shows the limited options that skiers have in the Adirondacks. In fact, this question gets to the root of why we exist. We want to be able to, through our efforts with New York State, identify and maintain a network of open woods and access points for skiers throughout the Adirondack Park. However, there are discussions on creating an on-line map or reference of the current designated backcountry ski options such as Wright Peak and Mt. Marcy.